Pearls Before Swine by Stephan Pastis for June 05, 2014

Pearls Before Hobbes…

…or maybe Swine Before Hobbes.

Nice underbite, Libby’s version of Pig.

You mean do far worse. Libby’s Rat has a certain cuddliness to him while her Pig some how comes across as potentially more mean spirited thanks to those teeth. Completely the opposite of the two.

Someone’s gonna hurt me for this, but I hope Pearls keeps that artwork going! That’s awesome!

And all it would take to undo this progress would be a return visit from the Family Circus kids….

Hi Bill!

does this mean that Pastis has to attend second grade to cover for her while she does his work? If so…..Libby better be prepared to repeat second grade….

What do you mean “is now drawn”? Cartoon Boy’s reliving his childhood, isn’t he?

Hey, that Libby is some artist!I mean, “Libby” is a nom de plume for a well-known cartoonist, right? And the preponderance of guesses favors Bill Watterson….When do we get the Big Reveal, Cartoon-Boy?

Libby should draw THE FAMILY CIRCUS the next time Bil takes a vacation!

Wow, who knew Pastis had it in him?

Libby can draw real live legs, too.

Paying homage to Watterson! Nice!

i did not know pearls was secretly calvin and hobbes!

It has to be Bill Watterson’s work: look how Rat is jumping back in fear. Looks exactly like how Hobbes jumped back in many a strip of “Calvin and Hobbes”. What’s next? Crazy homicidal snow men in Rat’s Beerland????

When it comes to Martian invasions I’ll stay with Orson Welles and Gene Barry!

Stephan, don’t let her get your goat . . . ☻

get rid of the kid

she even made Pastis, look almost human… golly

Libby is Billy spelled sideways. Sort of.

The explosion beneath pig is kind of in a bad place. Makes it look like he had a bean burrito and was standing near an open flame!

It’s about time this comic strip got a real cartoonist!

;)

Heck. I figured it was always draw by a second grader who needed an adult to front for her, because she couldn’t sign the syndicate contract.

Has to be Bill Watterson. Pastis collaborates with other cartoonists all the time. Not only that, but Watterson recently did his first cartoon in two decades as the poster for the comics documentary Stripped, on which he also consented to be interviewed, so that would have created an impetus for Pastis to contact him and set this up.

She just has to wait until Sunday, three more panels then.

I want Stephen back.

Dump the second-grader!

I do not like the new drawing

Charlie Schulz always said Charlie Brown was the hardest character to draw because of his round head. Cartoon-boy actually draws a lot of circles really well, so don’t think he can’t draw.

Waterson also made that same comment Libby does in the last panel. He was forced into telling stories using boxes that didn’t work for what he was trying to do. They finally gave him free reign, but it took a while. I still miss his strips, which is why I still read his books.

I just don’t think it’s Watterson. It’s not his style (that Mars scene would be even more detailed if it was). Still, it would be cool it it was.

Even the lettering has Watterson characteristics…

Pastis said on his FB page to get ready for a really big surprise this week – I can’t imagine anything much bigger than a Watterson guest spot.

That second grader sure can draw.

I called this yesterday before anyone!

Not only does the drawing look like Watterson’s (and the subject matter), but the handwriting in the word balloons is a dead give-away.

Silly girl…Everyone knows that Martian War Machines have three legs.

OMG….Pig actually said something intelligent.Its all down hill from here……Stephan will save the day.(pleeeeaaaasseee!!!!!!)

If this is PBS drawn by a second grader does that make Stephan’s work something drawn by a pre-schooler?

My vote is new pig, old rat, and whichever Democrats are running for the Senate in Iowa and Mississippi.

Libby is forgetting that comics are more about the story and/or jokes than the art. Van Gogh was a great artist, but could he have been a good cartoonist?

I think Libby is Orphan Annie. She’s showing up in other strips, too. She’s been in the background at Gasoline Alley for about a week. And Dick Tracy is being asked to find her.

awesome

This is getting better and better…

I don’t think Watterson ever used exclamation points over characters’ heads. He made us see it on their faces. Jeez, I miss Calvin and Hobbes—but I really also love PBS.

The art work may have improved but not the humor.

I especially like the last panel’s reference to “more space”, which Watterson was able to get on Sundays. Those Spaceman Spiff landscapes were wonderfully indulgent!

I think if you look back to yesterday, I called C&H first but some people said no, it looks more like Pogo … not that I am gloating or anything …

Actually, I read the Sunday comics in a newspaper the other day, and Pearls Before Swine was one of the more neater ones. The lines are much cleaner than others. The artwork is simple, but it works. So this artist is near-perfect.

By the way, I like Rat’s line.“No. We’ll always be a talking head strip.”And is this drawn by Bill Watterson?

Strangely enough, I imagine their voices differently now. I wonder who the guest artist is.

Okay, so the joke is that Patsis is getting outclassed by a second grader, one who draws as good as Bill Watterson, but who isn’t (within the context of the strip itself) Bill Watterson.Also, last week I saw “Dear Mr. Watterson” on Netflix, which features a long statement by Patsis analyzing why Watterson never authorized any extensions of the strip such as merchandising or screen adaptations. On a live interview he comes off as much more sophisticated than he does in his own strip. (Yes, I know. That’s the joke.)

ALIENS!

Thank god, for a second there I thought I was hallucinating with my cold.

It actually is Bill Watterson. Check out Pastis blog.

It is really cool to know Watterson actually helped draw this strip. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2014/06/06/exclusive-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-returns-to-the-comics-page-to-offer-a-few-pearls-gems/ for furthers details as to how and why.

OH MY GOD IT’S ACTUALLY WATTERSONhttp://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/

OH MY GOD IT’S ACTUALLY WATTERSONhttp://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/

Thank you for this, Pearls is my current favorite, but Calvin and Hobbes is a cultural phenomenon. Having Bill Watterson himself as your guest artist on this strip is quite possibly the coolest thing to happen to comic strips in the last 20 years.

WATTERSON DREW THIS!! LOOK! http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/

More Bill Watterson genius here. Now I REALLY miss Calvin more that ever.

A sure sign that Bill W. was and still is a legend!

Thanks!

Finely drawn and quartered. Watterson’s tour de farce…;0)

This comic was drawn by Bill Watterson. Yes Calvin and Hobbes Bill Watterson. Sooo cool.http://stephanpastis.wordpress.com/2014/06/07/ever-wished-that-calvin-and-hobbes-creator-bill-watterson-would-return-to-the-comics-page-well-he-just-did/

Bill Watterson lives on!

This is so awesome! How about the tail on Rat!

Ha ha, anyone Notice “Rats” tail in box 2?? Awesome!!!

Can´t believe my eyes! Bill Watterson!! What a great collaboration! Congratulations Stephan!

Calvin before Perals

I love it! Rat is so cute. He is too cute to be the nasty fellow that he is.

OK, that was supposed to actually show the C&H strip from Sept 16, 2009 (originally from Aug 3, 1988). Maybe someone can tell me how to correctly insert an image into a comment?

I like the joke about needing more space.

It was drawn by Bill Watterson

Bill Watterson was, is, and will always be great.